~~The Enchanted Forest (Past)~~
The days passed ever so slowly. Hook was in the bed and every night I'd fall asleep next to him. It wasn't the same. He didn't play with my hair. He didn't kiss me goodnight. He didn't pull me closer to him. I hated it. I couldn't do anything to help him.
The crew gathered a bunch of food, drinks, and the most important thing, Rum. They brought it all back to the ship for everyone. I sat around and talked with the crew to see if they had any information about the medallion, but they only knew the same things we did. Blackbeard didn't engage much with us. He'd help if we needed it. It seems we're both not interested in hurting each other anymore. Water under the bridge.
I sat on a barrel downing some rum. As the Captain, I was lost. I didn't know where to start looking for Riker. I had no new information.
"That's not going to solve the problem." Blackbeard broke me from my thoughts.
"It helps." I mumbled. "I'm the Captain and I'm the one that should have a destination, but it's been days and we have nothing." Blackbeard took the rum from me drank some.
"One thing I learned, is you never let the crew or anyone see you quit. The second you do, that's when you lose yourself and the people that follow you. There doesn't have to be a destination. As long as you sail this ship with purpose, they will follow you." That last sentence sounded familiar. My head snapped up.
"Where did you hear that?"
"I didn't hear it. I read it in a book many years ago." I scoffed.
"You read?" He glared at me and I hopped off the barrel. "There's this book in Hook's study. It had that sentence written on the inside." I quickly ran down the steps and Blackbeard followed me. I looked over the shelf to find the book. Within seconds, I found it. I pulled it from the shelf and placed it on the table.
Ship's Haven
"I glanced at the book, but didn't think much of it until now." I opened it and in some very neat handwriting, it showed the names of every Captain the ever existed. It also showed the towns where these Captains like to frequent the most.
"This looks exactly like the one my father had. The handwriting changes too. Seems it got passed down through the years." I flipped through the pages and as I did, the handwriting changed. I flipped closer to the end of the book where writing was done. "I'll bet you anything this is Hook's father's handwriting before and then the last one might be Hook's."
Killian Jones of the Jolly Rodger
The Enchanted Forest
"It is his." Then I saw my name in Hook's handwriting.
Phoenix of the Jolly Rodger
The Enchanted Forest
I was a Captain in his eyes. I always thought he saw me as his co-captain or just as his love. It made my heart melt and made me feel so much more confident. Blackbeard flipped through the pages of the book himself.
"Looks like this book was passed down from generations of pirates. From the very first ones to now." He flipped some more until he found Whitebeard's name.
Wolcott Karver of the Black Crystal
BrineBarrow
"I know that place. I have an old friend who lives there. It's about a 3 days travel from here." Blackbeard said and I couldn't help but finally feel hope.
"Then that's where we will go." I closed the book and left it on the table. We both walked back up to the main deck and I went to the helm. "Listen up everyone! Full sails and hull the anchor, our next destination is BrineBarrow. That's where we will start our search." I said and they just stood there for a moment as if they were all scared. "Let's go you ladies! Man your stations, I shouldn't have to tell you twice! Get it together or you will walk the plank!" I shouted and they quickly ran to their posts. In only minutes, the big sails were down and tied to the masts. They rose the anchor and we started to move. I turned the ship to the left to move out to open water.
"Blackbeard! Which direction are we heading?" I asked.
"Northwest until you see the stars in the sky. Then bear left to the East about 30 degrees. Straight on after that." I nodded and started sailing the ship. The sea was steady as there were no waves. The air was soft and warm against my face as my hair blew back. I stared out at the open sea, hoping that the place we get to will have answers.
~~~~
The night was peaceful. The stars looked brighter than usual. The moon was almost full. Despite the calm nature of everything around me, my mind was still racing a mile a minute. Between everything that happened, I felt I had no control, apart from guiding this ship.
The crew were asleep down below. Blackbeard sat on some barrels, drinking some rum and staring out to sea. I was doing the same. Anything to clear my mind. I debated on going down to the Quarters to see Hook, but it'd only make me more miserable. Instead I placed the rope on the wheel and sat down on the ground, leaning against it; letting myself fall asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing and the gentle rocking of the ship.
I woke up to a large wave crashing against the ship. It jostled the ship back and forth for a moment then everything stilled. The waves were bigger now and more powerful. I sat up and stretched, feeling the stiffness in my back and trying to relieve it. I pulled out my compass to make sure we were still heading in the right direction. We were. That's when I noticed the sky. The sun was rising, but it wasn't the color any pirate hopes for. It was a deep, fiery-red. That meant danger.
I quickly made my way to the hold where all the crew sleeps. I found a small wooden plank and began banging it against the stairs. It wasn't loud, but loud enough to startle everyone awake.
"Man your stations! We might be heading into some trouble and we'll need all the energy we can muster up! Let's go!" They all started looking around for their shoes and clothes as I walked back up the main deck. It had only been a few minutes I was down there, but as I breached the main deck, the wind whipped my hair all around. I quickly pulled my hair back, as the crew and Blackbeard were now on the deck.
"What's with all the yelling this early?" Blackbeard said in annoyance. I pointed to the sky in the distance.
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning..." I paused and Blackbeard finished my sentence.
"Sailor's take warning." The breeze wasn't warm anymore and there was a nervous feeling all around us. No one said anything as we watched the sky. The more time that passed, the darker the sky became. I ran to the study and searched around for one of the maps. I grabbed it then headed back to the main deck. I rolled out and set it on top of one of the barrels. Blackbeard stood next to me.
"We're on the same path, we haven't strayed too far at all. Do we have time to dock somewhere? Is there anyplace close?" Blackbeard looked at the map.
"No. We'd have to make a sharp right and go West. Whatever storm is headed our way would reach us before we made it to port which would be hours. It's coming fast." As he said that another cool breeze blew around us and a big wave crashed against the ship. "We can only hope that it dies out quickly."
"Do we anchor and stay where we are?" He shook his head.
"We keep moving. At least that way we might be able to avoid the center of it. We can sail where the waves aren't that bad." I nodded and folded up the map. "Keep your course. Only change direction if we're about to head to the center of it." I've never been in a storm before.
"How will I know that?" Blackbeard looked out to the sea.
"You'll know." Just then, it started to downpour on all of us. "We must get ahead of this storm." I ran back up to the helm as the water ran down my face, making the lose hair stick to my face.
"Release all sails! We need as much speed as possible to outrun this storm! Batten down the hatches and fit the ports with deadlights! Run the safety lines!" I turned the ship to right, decided to try to stay to the right of the storm.
"Stow the cannons, douse the lanterns and any hot items!" The crew scurried about, doing everything I told them. The sails went up and seconds later, we were gaining speed. By now, everything on the main deck was soaked with water. Blackbeard came up and stood next to me.
"Faster ladies! We can't afford to take on more water with your slow asses!" He shouted and I just stared at him. "Don't be afraid to throw some curse words in there." He nudged my arm with a grin. It felt good to have someone help me since Hook wasn't awake. He might not be the most friendly, but I felt more calm that he was here.
The minutes passed and we were gaining as much speed as we could. The wind ripped through the air and the waves were bigger and more violent. The ship was tipping father downwards over every wave we passed. To say I was terrified was an understatement. The wheel got harder to hold with each passing second. The ship wanted to turn in the direction the waves were going, but we couldn't do that.
"Bear more to the right!" Blackbeard shouted over the loud rain. "It seems like it's coming at us from the North. If we can get passed it by staying to the right then hopefully we can go back to our regular course." I turned the wheel to the right, using a lot of my strength and then holding it until I moved it back so it was straight.
The rain pelted down on us, making it hard for me to see. For any of us to see. The waves crashed, splashing more water onto the deck. A few of the crew slipped, but got their bearings quickly. The wheel was wet and made it harder to hold. My hands kept losing grip and I had to keep re-adjusting them. My feet were the only thing keeping me from falling.
The sky was far from the red it was earlier. The clouds covered the sun and the sky was a dark grey. A very uninviting color. In the distance I started to see flashes of light. Lightening. Followed by the rumble of thunder every ten seconds or so.
"We need to go faster!" Blackbeard shouted to me.
"We can't go any faster! All the sails are up, but the wind is blowing towards us! If it's coming from the North we should move farther West. We might be able to get out of the way just in time!" I explained with water shooting from my lips as it drenched my face.
"We do that and we lose time! We'd be caught in the center just as quickly!"
"We drop the anchor to make a sharp right! Then we'd be going West. Yeah it'd put more time on our journey, but we'd be out of danger until it dies out! You said the next port is hours away, why not just go that way now?"
"This storm is not just any storm. I've ridden this path many times over and each time the storm comes from the North and shifts, then goes to the West. This storm was created to ward off any pirates." I felt rage in me.
"Why didn't you tell me that?!" I shouted as I held the wheel tighter.
"You wouldn't have made the journey otherwise!" I looked back out to the storm that was gaining on us. I had enough of magic and things going wrong in my life. I wasn't about to let this storm take us.
"Listen up ladies! Everything we can afford to lose, see that it's lost! We must gain more speed!" Half of the crew went below deck and started bringing up barrels, and trinkets that were not of importance. Trip after trip, the ship started gaining more speed.
"That might be just enough. Stay this path and do not let the wheel move in any direction or we're all dead!" I nodded quickly and gripped the wheel harder. Blackbeard went down the main deck and started shouting orders at the crew. I couldn't hear what he was saying. I was too busy trying to keep the wheel in place. My feet kept sliding as the waves drove more and more water onto the ship. Each wave we sailed over made it all worse. One strong wave hit the side of the ship, causing me to lose my footing and fall flat on my stomach; the wind being knocked out of me. I sucked in a breath and I felt a hand pulling me up to my feet. As I looked up through the water that dripped from my lashes, I saw those sharp, blue eyes looking right into mine. Killian. He woke up.
His hook held the wheel to keep it from pulling to the right as his other hand was now holding mine. A huge smile made its way to my face as I rested my head against his. This moment was short lived as another large wave hit the ship, causing it to tip to the side. I fell backwards, but quickly got to my feet as the ship tipped to the other side. The ship rocked and it felt like it would tip completely over and we'd all drown. I helped Hook hold the wheel of the ship as we continued to sail straight on through the edge of the storm. I hadn't even realized we weren't in the center. That would have been the calmest place, but the most dangerous to get out of.
We both held the wheel steady. Every wave, every jolt, every splash of water seemed to get stronger as the minutes passed, but maybe that's because we had been holding on for long. We held on for dear life, unsure of when this wretched storm would end. It wasn't until we noticed that we didn't have to hold the wheel as hard. That's when we both looked out to sea and the waves were getting weaker. The rain wasn't pelting us as hard and the wind was calming down. We were finally able to catch our breath and not shout over the sound of the storm because we had escaped it. The first storm I had been in and we all survived. It sounds like a miracle.